From Rock Bottom to Redemption: My Story of Recovery and Purpose

Before everything came crashing down, I had a stable career in hotel and restaurant management. I was a father, a provider, and someone people trusted. But in 2011, my infant son passed away shortly after birth and everything in me changed.

For a while, I kept functioning. I worked. I parented. I showed up. But the grief I buried started showing up in other ways. I turned to alcohol. And over the next few years, I slowly unraveled.

By 2016, what started as coping turned into dependency. And by 2017, I was living through the consequences. In the span of a single year, I was arrested for driving under the influence with my children in the car. That moment was the most shameful and painful turning point of my life. But it didn’t stop there. I was later arrested and charged in connection with a bank robbery. My name, Wesley “Wes” Burgner was all over national news. I became a headline. A cautionary tale. A public failure.

But that isn’t where the story ends.

Even before the courts stepped in, I knew I needed help. I voluntarily checked myself into an intensive inpatient treatment program. I followed that with a full year in a sober living community, where I began the slow work of rebuilding. Nearly a year into my sobriety, I was accepted into Fulton County’s Accountability Court program; a structured, transparent system focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Through that program, I committed to full transparency, weekly accountability, therapy, and long-term structure. I completed it fully and became one of its standout graduates. Along the way, I received letters of praise and recognition from judges in both Fulton and Glynn Counties, as well as the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. That acknowledgment didn’t erase what happened, but it affirmed that change was real and earned.

I’ve now been sober for several years. I’ve rebuilt trust with my children and family; something I work at every single day. I returned to college at Georgia State University, where I study psychology and prepare to enter law school. I started a successful eCommerce business, and I became an active member of the civic association in my Atlanta neighborhood.

One of the most meaningful things I’ve done is founding The Artemis Council, a nonprofit that provides emotional support and resources to children of addicted parents. It’s my way of giving back, and trying to provide something I wish had been available for my kids during my darkest moments.

I also legally changed my name from Wesley to Wess, not to run from my past, but to protect my children from reliving it every time someone searched for me. The past is part of my story, but I want the future to be built on the work I’ve done since.

Redemption isn’t a one-time event. It’s a daily choice; a commitment to live with honesty, humility, and purpose. I’m not proud of my past, but I’m incredibly proud of the man I’ve become in its wake.

I share my story now not to erase what happened, but to take full responsibility for it and to let others know that even when it feels like you’ve lost everything, there’s still a way forward.

You can fall and still rise.

Author Bio:

Wess Burgner is a father, psychology student, and nonprofit founder in long-term recovery. He shares stories of addiction, redemption, and second chances to inspire others on the journey toward healing and purpose. wessburgner.com